By Patrick McHugh: Undefeated #1 IBF heavyweight contender Joseph Parker (19-0, 16 KOs) will be fighting this Thursday night against #11 WBA Solomon Haumono (24-2-2, 21 KOs) in what is supposed to be a 12 round fight at the Horncastle Arena, in Christchurch, New Zealand. There’s expected to be a sizable crowd attending the fight.
This is likely the last stop for the 24-year-old Parker before he challenges for a world title against IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. Parker recently defeated Carlos Takam by a 12 round decision last May in their IBF heavyweight title eliminator bout.
This will be an interesting fight for Parker, because it gives him a chance to show what he can do against arguably the second best opponent in his four-year pro career.
Takam, 35, was obviously the best guy that Parker has faced since turning pro in 2012.
The 40-year-old Haumono is definitely the next best guy that Parker will have faced, and it should be intriguing to see how he deals with the hard hitting New Zealand fighter. Haumono isn’t an easy out by any means. Parker will need to bring his A-game for him to beat the hard-hitting Haumono in this fight. Haumono’s best wins have come against Marcelo Luiz Nascimento, Cliff Couser and Manuel Alberto Pucheta.
Haumono fell apart in his fight against Kevin Johnson three years ago in losing by a 10th round knockout. Never the less, Haumono remains a dangerous puncher who will be a threat to stopping Parker as long as he’s in there.
“Everyone I fight wants what I have; they want the position that I have, the mandatory to fight for the world title,” Parker said RingTV.com. “The danger (Haumono) presents is he’s the type of fighter likes to pick his shots and, when he does, he gives it everything. He’s got a lot of power, as you can probably tell from his record.”
Parker, 6’4”, can’t afford to lose this fight if he wants to get his title shot against the 6’6” Joshua. He needs to take care of business against Haumono so that he can move forward to challenge Joshua. Parker has the power to defeat Joshua. He just needs to make sure he doesn’t just stand there and not let his hands go like Joshua’s last two opponents Dominic Breazeale and Charles Martin. Those two American fighters failed to throw punches against Joshua, and this made it easy for him to stop them.
Parker needs to take care of Haumono in style on Thursday night and not leave anything to chance. Parker’s stock could drop if he’s made to struggle against Haumono. This should be an easy fight for him if he fights the way that he knows how.